This week, we head to Rome, Italy for the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club. As many golf fans would say, the pinnacle of golf. Team Europe will be back on home soil and eager to steal the trophy back as they were on the wrong side of the ”slaughter by the water” at Whistling Straights in 2021.
Team USA opened up as a fairly decent favorite due to their depth and overpowering lineup of A+ golfers but the line has shifted to Europe as a slight favorite. There are a few factors here that I believe shifted the line in Team Europe’s favor. For starters, Team USA has not won a Ryder Cup on European Soil in 30 YEARS! Another factor is that although Team USA probably has a better overall roster, Team Europe has the #2 #3 & #4 players on the planet Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Viktor Hovland.
I believe Marco Simone Golf Club will be set up in the best way possible to benefit Team Europe but at the end of the day, it’s still Golf and you still have to show up and outshoot your opponent. Team Europe will have to play some outstanding golf to outmatch Team USA who’s returning more than half the 2021 roster. That team had so much success in both formats of four-ball and alternate shot.
SammyStats10K Best Bets
This week I picked a side as well as 2 golfers for each team to have the team’s most points throughout the week.
Jon Rahm Top European Player +500
Rahm was the best European player at Whistling Straights racking up 3.5 of the team’s 10 total points and was top 3 out of the 24 total players that competed. I believe Rahm is the strongest player on Team Europe and at 5/1 odds, I simply cannot pass up on him this week. His ball striking should put him above his opponents in their respected four-ball and alternate shot matchups.
Viktor Hovland Top European Player +475
Hovland makes his 2nd start in his young career for Team Europe in the Ryder Cup. Viktor is arguably the best golfer in the world right now winning the BMW Championship and winning the following week at East Lake to hoist the FedEx Cup Trophy. Hovland has his game dialed right now and next to Jon Rahm, I think there is a good chance one of them has the most European points for the week as they also will be playing every session giving them the opportunity to rack up the most tally’s.
Xander Schauffele Top American Player +600
Xander has a fairly decent Ryder Cup record playing alongside partner Patrick Cantlay. I anticipate them being paired together throughout the week leaving the Sunday singles match a must-win in order to win the bet over PC. X-man at 6/1 odds potentially coming down to a singles match seems like tremendous value over Cantlay 4/1.
Max Homa Top American Player +800
Taking a shot on Homa this week. Max was 4-0-0 in the Presidents Cup last year and seems to have the fire in these types of team competitions. He’s proven he can thrive in both formats and remains unbeaten. Will gladly take 8/1 odds on Homa any day of the week.
Team Europe to Hoist the Trophy +195 & +140
Lastly, I am going with Team Europe on home soil to lift the trophy. I was lucky to place these bets a month ago and saw tremendous value in the home team. Since the last few weeks, we’ve seen the # drop as Team Europe is now a slight favorite. I would probably play Team USA now at those numbers but if you can still find Team Europe in that +130 range or greater I would absolutely still hop on them. I think it will be an incredible week of golf and truly believe it will be razor-thin competition coming down to Sunday singles.
As always, Enjoy the Ryder Cup & always wager responsibly.